Albus Potter and the Next Generation
by Dave the L's gal
Summary: Title subject to change. Subject subject to change. Basically Al and the gang at Hogwarts. I plan on ending with an AP/SM pairing just so you know, but that's subject to change. Rated M for future chapters and for "bad" language.
1. In the Beginning

**Warning:**I'm not sure what will happen with this by the way. I had an idea but the characters might not go the way I planned, but it will probably end up ASP/SHM. Well, if I don't lose interest or time or inspiration. I don't think "M" ratings should be used for "bad" language, but I'll give this an "M" for language and some possible…stuff…later. 

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Harry Potter or else it would actually say the swear words instead of, "Ron cursed under breath."

I dedicate this to Draco and the Malfoy's. I found these lyrics when researching the future of Harry Potter and I doubt they're good, but this touches me.

_"My dad's always there to open all my doors, you have to call a Patronus just to catch a glimpse of yours/My dad is rich, and your dad is dead."_

—

Albus Severus Potter had his leaned his forehead onto the window, a move that would leave a mark on both his face and the window. He sighed as he stared at the countryside the Hogwarts Express was zooming by. His eyes slowly moved to look at his own reflection.

If it had been over twenty years ago, one might of thought that the boy was his famous father, Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Refused-to-Die, the Husband-of-best-Hollyhead-Harpies-Chaser-Ever, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street…well, not the last one; he just threw that one in for fun. Anyways, you could hardly blame someone who somehow time traveled a generation into the future for mistaking Albus—Al by his friends and family—for his father. Like his father—according to his aunts and uncles and his own father—he was small for his age in both width and height; he was pale and knobby-kneed; his face was slender and a bit long; and he had the famous emerald green eyes in the shape of almonds. Apparently impersonators for shows could never fully pass as Harry because the eyes were never quite right.

The hair on his head stood at all angles, no matter what he did. Al had been born with bright red hair like his mom but the color darkened some and was a mix between black and red. If it wasn't for his hair color and the freckles that dotted his nose and cheeks, he would be a miniature version of his father. 

His eyes spotted the reflection of the rest of the room. On the seat next to him was his brother James Sirius Potter. James had the black, untidy hair of his father—and, not to mention, of the men for which he was named—and the blue eyes somehow passed down through the Weasley clan. He had freckles, but not quite as much as his mother or his sister, Lily. James had a built similar to his Uncle Ron: gangly and awkward. It was pretty much determined that James would surpass his father in height because Harry was a bit shorter than average (The Midget of the Family as he was called by the Weasley's—another name to add to the list!) and James was closing in on his height at twelve.

He was talking animatedly with his cousin Fred Weasley about some prank or another. The two were becoming quite a pair, taking after Fred's father and his namesake, Uncle Fred. Fred had skin the creamy color of chocolate milk, a standout in the Weasley family. He also stood out for not having red hair—a quirk of being a Weasley. The thirteen year old had tight, curly hair in a brown color. His round eyes were colored in hazel. Fred was taller than James and 

his voice was already jumping octaves randomly. Although he was a jokester, he took his studies and activities very seriously and would stop a prank if it would interfere with one or the other.

Rose sat on his left hand side. She was the complete opposite, constantly reading and absorbing every fact and conversation in her brain. Even when she should've been worrying about what house she would be sorted in like every normal first-year, she was reading some thick, dusty Muggle book that even English Lit majors at the university they passed on the train probably couldn't understand. Rose had her mother's brown eyes and height, as Rose was a bit shorter than Al. Her dark auburn, bushy hair made her look quite insane, but she was probably the sanest person Al ever met, only basing her arguments on facts.

Al and Rose got on quite well and were closest to each other than their other cousins. Al could talk to James about almost anything but he preferred the deep, fun, and philosophical conversations with Rose. And for some reason Al was awkward around most boys his age but could talk freely with anyone older than him and the girls in his grade. 

Anyways, they bonded over many things, particularly entering Hogwarts at the same time. Both of them were nervous about Hogwarts because of their parents. Deep down they knew that their parents wouldn't care what house they were sorted in, but they had a lot riding on their shoulders. 

Al had two amazing parents to live up to, both academically and on the Quidditch pitch. He planned on trying out for Quidditch his second year of Hogwarts, but he wasn't sure if he could ever live up to his father's reputation; he was the youngest Quidditch player in over a _century_for God's sake! Al wasn't that bad but he didn't see himself as "brilliant", and even if he made seeker—his dream position—he would have to deal with all the comparisons to his dad and his mum who substituted for his dad when he had detentions or was otherwise banned from the sport. Academically both of his parents were above average and managed to do well on most everything. His father pointed out that he and Ron had Hermione's "help" and that Rose could probably have the same effect, but he still worried. His fellow students would probably think that his father was a spectacular student that never had to cram the night before the test or suffer detentions like the others and they would expect the same from him and James and Lily.

Rose had the luck to be born to Hermione Granger. Now it wasn't that Rose didn't like her mom; Rose and Hermione had a strong bond that would probably disappear in her teen angst years and reappear as a "my mum is my best friend" package when she left home. It just wasn't easy to know she would have a lot of the same teachers as her mother. She had one teacher when she went to school with the Muggle children her age that also taught her mother. Immediately she declared Rose a genius which caused a rift between her and her peers. And she also came from the Weasley family, a family famous at Hogwarts for fun and Quidditch, a subject she in which she was considered mediocre. 

While Al thought this inner monologue for when he published a memoir, _Albus Severus Potter: Son of Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley_ (he was working on the title title), a darker skinned boy came in and was whispering with his male (Albus was barely considered a male with all the time he spent with female friends) cousins. After a few moments Fred stood up and dusted himself off.

"Well, we'll be leaving you frosh now to see some friends," Fred said as he headed out the door. James stood as well and was about to leave when he locked eyes with Al.

"Are you coming James?" the young boy said, his feet out of the door. James looked at Al who shrugged.

"Uh…yeah…sure," James replied. He squeezed Al's shoulder supportively and gave him a smile before disappearing down the corridor. The slam of the sliding door echoed in the emptiness of the room. 

Al dug through a bag and found a small object. The years had seen wizards experimenting by combining magic with muggle technology. Some muggle military weapons were created when muggle and wizarding technology were combined, so no one had dared to do it since the atomic bomb. Then they came up with the idea of using it for entertainment needs and the iPod was made and computers, televisions, etc. were available to wizards though only few over a certain age could work them and most people that did or did not saw no point to the muggle technology.

The black headphones were put over his ears and he turned the click wheel to find something interesting. He couldn't think of anything particularly interesting and put it on the "Shuffle Songs" selection, skipping a song or ten every now and then to find a good one. Finally he decided to listen to an actual album.

Albus was listening to "Un Bel Di Redux" by the East Village Opera Company—this cool group that turned opera music to rock songs—when he stopped staring into space and looked at Rose. It was then when he noticed that her eyes weren't moving and that she looked almost as pale as he did. With that he paused his music and lowered the headphones around his neck. 

"Rose?" He asked, "Are you okay?"

She snapped her head up and put on a fake smile. "Yes," she started unconvincingly, "yes, I'm fine Al."

"Rose, I've none you how long now? Trust me, I know you're worried," he said, closing the book she was reading.

She sighed. "Fine _Albus_," she said, using his full name to annoy him. As he rolled his eyes she continued, "You heard my dad," she put on a fake low voice, "'if you don't get in Gryffindor, you're disowned!' I mean, I know he won't disown me, but I don't want to disappoint him or mum."

"Rose Crystalline Weasley, you know well that he was kidding! And they will love you no matter what. Plus the only other house you can end up in is Ravenclaw and at least you'd have Victoire for a year and you'll make friends by making references to…" he looked at the book he held in his hands, "Victor Hugo…huh…Why not Victor?"

Rose smiled, "Victor was close to Victoire. Plus my mom had an old boyfriend named Victor that my dad hates."

"See, you would get stuff like that. You could be in Ravenclaw," he said with a laugh. "Me on the other hand," he sighed, "I don't have the brains for Ravenclaw and I doubt I can make Gryffindor because I'm not very brave and Hufflepuff…not for me. That leaves Slytherin…" he thought of what his father said and wondered if it would be that bad…

"Slytherin probably isn't that bad, you know. Mum said that it's diluted now and not as big of a bigoted pure blood house as it was when she went to Hogwarts," Rose said as if reading his mind. "Plus," she added, "Your parents would be happy no matter what house you got in."

"Oh, Rose, you ended a sentence with a preposition," Al said, "That's not good."

"They shouldn't have let you do Advanced English in grade school," Rose said smiling.

"And why wouldn't you get in Gryffindor Albus Severus Potter?" she said with a smile, "The Potter generation contains Gryffindors since the start of the name," she held up one finger, "The Weasleys have been almost all Gryffindors since the Sorting began," she put up another 

finger and said, "Plus any guy who admits that he listens to opera, even in rock form, is pretty brave." She stole his iPod from him and reveled knowing that she was right and he was listening to opera.

Al stuck his tongue out at her and joked, "Well, now that you brought all that up, not getting in will be an even bigger crushing blow. Thanks Rose." He said it sarcastically but he really felt depressed and crushed—he'd never thought about that. Crap.

Rose's face softened to a look of terror, realizing what she said, "Oh, God, Al, you know I didn't mean it that way! Oh please, I'm sorry Al!" She reached out her arms to hug him.

"No, no," he said, "It's fine." He stood and hugged her for a bit and then sat down.

They two sat in silence for a bit, both thinking about that conversation. 

"How did you know I was listening to EVOC?" Al asked.

She grinned. "You have this opera face you do," Rose said, furrowing her brow and opening her mouth to form some made up words while moving her arms dramatically. As much as she was like her mom, Rose had crazy moments like the other members of the Weasley gene pool. 

They both laughed a bit. 

"Al?" Al turned his face from the window from which he was staring, "You know that no one would care if you were a Slytherin, right?" She looked like a light bulb went on above her head, "In fact, it would finally get rid of that whole idea that Slytherins are evil, you know."

Al snorted, "And how would that work?"

"Well," she started, "You're the son of Harry Potter, the-Boy-Who-Lived, the—"

"Demon Barber of Fleet Street?"

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Anyways, you're supposedly pure and wonderful because of that—"

"Well, I _am_ pure and wonderful—"

"_ANYWAYS_," she said with a glare, "If the nice boy from Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley is in Slytherin then Slytherin really isn't all pure blood maniacs."

"Nice thought," Al said, "but there's one flaw: Won't people think I'm evil and not give me a chance?" 

Rose shrugged, "The people who do that aren't worth it. In fact, the people who assume all Slytherins are evil aren't worth anything." Al raised one eyebrow (well, attempted since he wasn't fully there yet), "Al, hate goes both ways. Not all Slytherins are evil, not all non-Slytherins are good, and not all Muggle-borns are worthless…

"And your initials are perfect!" She added to change the subject, "ASP. Like a snake. Get it?" Al rolled his eyes again because he had heard that from James since that boy entered Hogwarts.

Al studied the "About the Author" section of Rose's book aloud, "'Victor Hugo wrote many classics besides _The Hunchback of Notre Dame, _including the well-studied book-turned-musical, _Les Misérables…_.' Oh I remember watching that in drama! That was pretty cool for a musical but it did not reach the status of opera like they say it is."

"Just because it's not a "true" opera doesn't mean it isn't any good, Al," Rose stated, "You're such a snob."

"Musicals are good but they can't claim their operas when they use microphones!" That was one of Al's big pet peeves. He took some voice and music classes when he went to grade 

school and learned the difference. Any time anyone got something wrong and they insisted they were right—inside or outside of the subject of music—Al freaked out a bit. 

Eventually they switched items and went back to their previous activities. Al started "Un Bel Di Redux" again and thought about the whole house situation. Before the song even finished the door opened to reveal Victoire. 

Victoire had bright blond hair, with traces of red throughout it, which flowed down passed her chest with the slightest wave. She had a full pink mouth and a cute little nose that was right in the middle of her face and equidistant from either ends of her blue, almond-shaped eyes. Her black lashes were long and curled, creating a slight shadow from the light in the window onto her cheek bones (which were high and sculpted of course). Damn. She had even less Veela blood than her mom and she was still as pretty. 

"There you two are!" She exclaimed, "I've been trying to find you Rose! I want you to meet some of the Ravenclaws closer to your age since I bet you'll have to know them so-on!" Victoire sang the last word and flounced over to Rose and pulled her up. 

"I'll be out in a minute Vicki, I just need to get something from my bag," Rose said mournfully. Vicki wasn't as bad as her mom and she did have some good moments, but she could still be annoying as…well, you know. It didn't help that everyone wanted to either look like her or be her except for a few exceptions but that's not part of the story for now.

Victoire gracefully walked out the door and down the opposite way that James and Fred with that dark skinned boy. 

"Look on the Brightside: maybe her friends are cool," Al supplied lamely.

Rose snorted again, "Yeah, that's about as likely as my dad wearing a dress."

"Uncle Ron would look great in orange."

"Wow, you're matching skills are a mess," Rose joked. 

"Something, something, something orange," Al replied. Rose gave him a strange look so he explained, "I thought we were rhyming. Just my luck I got a crappy word that doesn't rhyme with anything." 

Rose gently slapped him on the head and left, not before pondering out loud if all Ravenclaws were like their glorious cousin and what made a Ravenclaw a Ravenclaw anyways?

"The Sorting Hat thought the color blue would bring out her eyes," Al said sarcastically.

And now he was alone.

Echo…echo…echo…

He accidentally left his iPod on during the exchange and now it was almost done with "Un Fond Du Temple Saint Redux". Al wasn't too fond of that song so he didn't mind, plus his favorite one was next.

"O Mio Babbino Caro Redux" started thumping into his ears and he started singing and dancing in the compartment, doing his trademark "opera face."

"O mio babbino caro,  
mi piace è bello, bello;  
vo'andare in Porta Rossa  
a comperar l'anello!  
Sì, sì, ci voglio andare!  
e se l'amassi indarno,  
andrei sul Ponte Vecchio,  
ma per buttarmi in Arno!

Mi struggo e mi tormento!  
O Dio, vorrei morir!

Come to me, break the curse you've invented  
I can see with a kiss, your tormented  
Naked here waiting, I'm contented  
Got to have your love  
Mercy

Sì, sì, ci voglio andare!  
e se l'amassi indarno,  
andrei sul Ponte Vecchio,  
ma per buttarmi in Arno!  
Mi struggo e mi tormento!  
O Dio, vorrei morir!

Come to me, break the curse you've invented  
I can see with a kiss, your tormented  
Naked here waiting, I'm contented  
Got to have your love

Outside it starts to rain  
Inside I go insane  
to lay in your arms again, again  
mercy mercy mercy

Outside it starts to rain  
Inside I go insane  
to lay in your arms again, again  
mercy mercy mercy

Come to me, break the curse you've invented  
I can see with a kiss, your tormented  
Naked here waiting, I'm contented  
Got to have your love

Oh Father Father

Got to have your love."

In the few seconds silence in between the song and the next he heard someone clapping. Fearing the worst he turned around slowly. There stood a pale, blond boy with silver eyes that appeared to be around Al's age, leaning against the door (_At least no one else heard_ Al thought).

"Nice job. It's a cool song, sounds like you're listening to a better version then I have," the boy said.

Al blushed and lowered his headphones. He turned off his opera and stood awkwardly, "Um…thanks…" he barely even whispered.

"I didn't know there would be anyone else who knew EVOC here. I've only heard them once but that sounds like what you were singing."

Al brightened. "I didn't know anyone else would know of them! My voice teacher told me about them last year and I really started to like them a lot. I mean, they're a not particularly popular Muggle group from years ago so like no one I know knows them."

"My dad will only listen to opera when it comes to Muggle music," the blond boy said, "But he probably wouldn't mind this." The boys stood there before the new boy said something, "Oh yeah! Sorry, I just came in because no one responded when I knocked and I wanted to find a place to sit since my compartment was overtaken by seventh years who decided I didn't need to sit. My robes on so I thought I could just chill in here for the remainder of the ride if that's okay…"

"Sure thing," Al said, "My compartment mates left me for cooler people who don't know the difference between an opera and a musical."

The boy snorted, "Ha, all the cool kids know that an opera doesn't use microphones and a musical does."

Al was cheering on the inside. He never met a person his age who knew all of this.

"Oh yeah! Sorry, you probably want to know who I am," Al said.

"As long as you aren't some wigmaker who's been looking for the perfect shade of blond I'm cool with who you are," the boy said smiling. Al laughed. _This kid's really cool!_

"Well I have Veela relatives so I think I already found the perfect shade of blond," Al said. The boy pretended to be offended but started laughing with Al.

When they got over their laughter, the boy held out his hand and Al followed suit.

"Hello, I'm Scorpius Malfoy. Please call me anything but that," the blond boy said with a pained expression.

"Mine's worse, I'm Albus Severus Potter. I thought I'd throw in the middle name to make you feel even better," Al said, "And Please also call me anything but that."

They sat on opposite sides of each other, both not wanting to ruin the fun atmosphere by acknowledging that their fathers' were enemies in school. The black cloud hung in the airof the compartment so Al decided to pop it.

"Um…so, you're the son of Draco Malfoy?" Al asked tentatively. 

"Yeah and I believe it's pretty obvious that you're the son of Harry freakin' Potter," Scorpius said. Al normally would've glared at someone who said that but Scorpius had a smile on his face and clearly meant it as a joke.

"Well…whatever happened between our dads doesn't need to happen to us, does it?"

Scorpius smiled, "Yeah, I guess not. But let's please change the subject before this heart to heart gets too touching and I reveal some things that are best left unsaid," he said with a wink.

"What house do you think you'll be in?"

They spent the rest of the train ride discussing everything from EVOC to Houses to their families to other wizard friends (Al didn't have any _close_ ones and Scorpius just had a few because other families avoided his dad after he started losing power in the Ministry) to names and before they knew it they were both in their robes at the station listening to a gruff voice.

"First years! First years!"

—

Somehow the first years survived the lake and managed not to get tortured to death by Peeves. They were now entering the Great Hall for the first time for the Sorting Ceremony. Al felt like a ball dropped in his stomach. He soaked in the floating candles and the enchantment of the ceiling to mirror the night sky (Rose jabbered all this in his ear even though he was told about this by James, Fred, and his Aunt Hermione) when the Hat was put on the stool. 

Al wanted to pay attention to the hat's song but he just couldn't concentrate and he wouldn't be able to concentrate until the Sorting was complete. He moved his head to look for James and Fred. 

The eleven year old could recognize the look on their faces that only occurred when they talked about food but they managed to smile and give him thumbs up when he got their eye contact and Anna Longbottom winked. He looked over to the other side and saw Victoire with her friends in blue, paying attention to the sorting while all the nearby guys stared at her. He saw Emma Longbottom at the Hufflepuff table give a small wave and a smile. He looked at Scorpius standing by him and Rose on his other side and he knew that he would be happy no matter what house he was in. There was no way Al could have no friends in whatever house the Sorting Hat saw right for him. He would survive Hogwarts and have fun while doing so. 

The song ended and the sorting began with, "Adams, Douglas!" who got put in Gryffindor, as well as his twin sister "Adams, Wednesday!"

_Oh no_, Al thought. Even if he knew he would be happy in whatever house he was still nervous as hell.

"Carter, Hannah!" 

"SLYTHERIN!"

For some reason the alphabet decided to move extra fast and suddenly the named being called was:

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

Many people laughed at the name while many also whispered about the legendary Malfoy family. The Hat stayed on longer than expected for his family, but it still shouted out, "SLYTHERIN!"

Al crossed his fingers that there were plenty of M's, N's, O's and other P's before he had to go. Whether there were quite a few or none he didn't know since time wasn't working properly tonight. 

"Potter, Albus!"

Like they did for Scorpius, a few people laughed, but those were mainly muggle-borns who didn't know the story and people who were caught off guard by the name. Either way they were shushed as Al walked to the stool. He sat and saw James and Fred watching intently…was James actually _worried_? And then he saw Scorpius by himself at the Slytherin table and how hopeful he looked with his half-smile. That half-smile was the last thing he saw before the brim of the hat covered his eyes.

'Hmmmm…very interesting…I was wondering if I would get another Potter soon…you are much more like your father then your brother seemed…'

_My dad told me about what you said, about Slytherin_.

'Oh yes, I remember that very well. Slytherin was a different place then. I think you could do well there, even better than your dad could have…'

_James said you would put me in there._

'Hmmm…who would think that a brother's jab would actually be somewhat accurate? Though of course you can be successful in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw _might_ work…but are you going to make a request like your father?'

_As long as I'm happy then my family's happy. I want the one that's best for me, not what my family will be most comfortable with…dang it, ended my sentence with a preposition…_

'Okay then…better be…

"SLYTHERIN!"

When he looked back on his life at Hogwarts, Albus Potter could sincerely say the Great Hall was never that quiet. Except for another exception, but that's not part of the story right now.

Al gulped and felt his face pale just a bit, but when the hat was taken off he was smiling nonchalantly and stepped down from stool.

"I TOLD YOU SO!"

Everyone's heads whipped around to find the source of the cry and discovered it was none other than James. Albus saluted him _Red Dwarf _style (_Why the heck did I do that?_) and walked over to the Slytherin table to the sound of laughter mixed with applause (WE GOT POTTER!). He pounded knuckles with Scorp and sat down next to him to watch the end of the Sorting.

Rose was the last one up there since there were apparently no X, Y, or Z's that year. After about a minute the hat yelled, "RAVENCLAW!" And was greeted by a standing ovation from Victoire whose conformist friends followed suit, as did the boys who were trying to impress her. 

When the clapping finally died down, the headmistress, Professor McGonagall, stepped up to state the standard rules of the school and other things no one really listened to. 

"And to wrap it all up, I'd like to quote a very wise man who's namesake is here," Al saw her glance over and many students turned to get another look of him (yet another thing to live up to in school). "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" With that she sat down and food appeared on every dish. 

Scorpius and Albus talked to the new Slytherins that would be joining them, but they seemed a bit shy around Al and confused over him as well. When dessert came they talked more freely and Al felt confident he would have fun with his classmates. There was sweet Hannah Carter whose mother was a doctor and father who was a nurse at St. Mungo's; Kristin Hess, a girl who was sure to grow up to be the punk of the grade; Sapphire Turner, a half-blood blond stunner with a love for singing; and Skye McGregor, a Scottish smart alec. The other two guys were Phillip "Lip" Cohen, named after his mom's favorite TV show character but he was not as lippy, and Robbie Williams…yes, his parents had a "great" sense of humor.

—

When Al settled into bed that night, he couldn't have been happier about how it turned out. Scorpius seemed to be a great friend and the boys already had some fun by joking around with their names and finding nicknames to go by. Al was declared mascot due to his initials being a name of a snake; Scorpius was dubbed was Corpse or Score, depending on the context; Phillip was already Lip or Lippy; and Robbie was called Angels after his namesake's breakthrough hit. All the names were subject to change, but that night Angels, Lip, Corpse, and Asp fell asleep with full stomachs and happy minds.

—

Yay it's done! Chocolate chip muffins for reviews! _Merci beaucoup_! I hope that wasn't too weird for you! Review please! Au Revoir! MWAH! 


	2. Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days

Chapter Two: …Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days…

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involving Harry Potter. Nor do I own any EVOC songs or Sweeny Todd or anything relating to them…except I bought multiple CDs to listen to from both…sound of author being whipped by corporate people But I don't own those CDs…well, I do since we are capitalists and not communists sounds of being tazered by police Okay I don't own EVOC or Harry Potter or Sweeney Todd except for their products! sounds of being punched by readers…

Thank you to my reviewer Turtle's Chopsticks!

—

The following day, Al woke up to Corpse shouting, "Move you lazy bastard! Do you want to be late on your first day of school?"

"What?" Al sat up and looked around in his morning haze. Lip and Robbie were leaving the dorm and Scorpius was standing on the frame of Al's bed. He checked his watch and realized he needed to move now if he wanted to eat anything. "SHIT!" Al was only eleven but he was taught very well by his uncles in the use of swear words. He rushed over to his trunk and put on the new robes with the Slytherin embellishment as Scorpius went over to face the mirror to check out his hair. "Why the hell didn't you guys wake me?"

"We tried, Al. You mumbled something like, 'Just a few minutes, mum,' and then went to back to sleep. Then when Lip came back from the bathroom you yelled, 'I'm up!' but then fell asleep again," Scorp said, smoothing back a stray hair. "It was kinda funny, really."

Al grimaced. He was _not_ a morning person. That was basically how every morning used to be at home, too. He'd need to work on that if he planned on passing at Hogwarts. After a quick rush to the restroom to brush his teeth and whatnot, he ran up the stairs to the Great Hall for his first breakfast.

When he opened the door, he saw a lot of people turn and stare and even more of the whispering. He knit his eyebrows in confusion—what's the big deal?—and walked with Scorpius to the Slytherin table.

The first year Slytherin boys ate quickly, talking and laughing only occasionally when their mouths weren't full of food. The girls of their year gossiped and talked way too quickly, looking every now and then in disgust and the boys laughing open mouthed. Well, this didn't include Al. He didn't eat too much for breakfast (lunch and dinner, however, were a different story), so he didn't feel the need to start now. Plus he couldn't help but notice all the looks and whispers aimed at his direction when he sat and observed the hall over his toast and jam.

He looked over at Scorpius, on his left, smirking at something Lip had said and he realized why they were all staring. "_How stupid could I be?" _He thought. _"I'm in Slytherin and I'm a Potter. How could I forget that?"_ Al realized he must have just been so happy he forgot that a Potter in Slytherin was not a normal thing.

Al paled a bit at that thought and looked over at Scorpius again. Scorp looked at him about to say something when he saw that his face was even paler than normal. He surveyed the hall and looked back with a sympathetic half smile. "They'll get over it," he whispered and took a bite of eggs. Al smiled in response and murmured a thank you. He didn't like that much attention on him. It made him even more nervous than before about his chances of failing.

Not too long after the other boys finished eating. "So, have we gotten are schedules?" Al asked shakily, his eyes not fully leaving the other tables.

"Uh, yeah…First thing is that Muggle Studies seminar," Robbie answered as the girls in their year and House moved closer.

Sapphire, who sat on Al's right, gave his hand a bit of a supportive squeeze and smiled at him.

"God, I'm glad I have only sisters," Skye exclaimed, "or else I would never get any food. Jeez, do all guys eat like that?"

The boys (including Al) looked at each other. "Yeah," They all said.

"Come on, Al, you didn't even eat anything, you can't join in," Skye said with a laugh. "Can you say _anorexia?_" She added with a laugh.

"Hey, hey, I'm not anorexic! I had toast and jam! It's just how I eat guys," Al replied in a mockingly defensive tone.

Scorpius put a hand on his back and said, "We'll watch him over these seven years, look for the warning signs."

Al gave a sarcastic "ha" when people started to leave the Great Hall. He checked his watch. "Oh crap, you guys, we have to start moving. Where's this Muggle Studies seminar?"

"Way to not look at the schedule, Al," Kristin said while laughing with the others.

The Potter boy made a confused look to which Hannah responded in her quiet way with, "Al, the seminar is in here. We wait for the others to leave."

Al made an "oh" look on his face. "Are all the houses in it?" He asked and Hannah shook her head.

_"I still might be able to sit by Rose!"_ Al thought. He looked around at his new friends and sighed. Maybe Rose would sit with him and his friends. The redhead cleared his throat and said, "Hey, guys, I got to say hi to my cousins and brother…"

They said bye and let him go across the hall. Sapphire and Hannah reassured him before he left. Al walked over to the Ravenclaw table in the cover of students leaving the Great Hall. Astonishingly, he made it over to a spot over by Rose without being noticed by everyone. Rose was facing the other way talking about something to someone when Al sneaked behind her back.

"Hey Rose," Al whispered.

Rose jumped out of her chair in shock. "Oh my God, Al, do no do that!" she said through gritted teeth. But soon her unhappiness turned to glee in seeing her favorite cousin and Al was pulled into a hug.

"So, have you written home yet about the sorting?" Rose asked after general questions she always asked (she too picked on his eating habits).

Al hit his forehead. "UGH!" He moaned, "I completely forgot to do that! I felt like I forgot something."

"This wouldn't be just to avoid telling them, is it?" Rose asked with an attempt of raising one eyebrow. She took in Al's shrug and said, "Oh well, you can write them during the Muggle Studies seminar. You'll probably get exempt from it."

"Do you have it next, too?" Al asked hopefully.

"You overslept again, didn't you?" Rose asked knowingly. When Al nodded with a bit of a blush Rose said, "Sadly, I do not. I have it later in the day with Hufflepuff. Slytherin and Gryffindor have it together, though."

"UGH again! I hope we get something together!" Al whined.

"I believe we have potions together. I can't remember what else," Rose assured. She glanced at Al's watch. "Listen, Al, I got to get to class. I need to allow time to get to wherever my class is. But, hey, listen, do you want to eat lunch at the Gryffindor table with James and Fred?"

They agreed on a time and place to meet for lunch so they wouldn't awkwardly sit by themselves while waiting for the other. Rose left with a hug and a cry for Al to eat something else.

Al turned around to the Gryffindor table but saw James already leaving, laughing with someone in his year. He saw Al just in time to give him a wave, which Al sadly returned. _"He's not avoiding me, is he?" _he thought to himself. With nothing else to do, Al headed back to the Slytherin table until only the first-years in Slytherin and Gryffindor remained.

The Muggle Studies seminar was added to the core curriculum after the fall of Voldemort. It was thought that if all wizards were taught how Muggles were people, too, that the aforementioned wizards would be less likely to become the next Voldemort. Obviously, some students already knew enough about Muggles that there was no need to take the seminar. So to catch students just trying to get out of a class and let the ones who knew their Muggle information out, there was a twenty-five question pre-test on the subjects taught that term.

Albus and Scorpius sat next to each other as they took the test and they switched papers with each other after the test was over for grading. Scorpius knew nothing and resorted to just making a pretty pattern in the bubble sheet. Al laughed at his lack of trying during the grading, especially when a few were actually _right_.

"Now switch papers again," the teacher droned on, "and see what you got on the test and check to make sure you understand what you missed and why."

Al looked down on his paper in shock and amazement—he had only missed _two_. And they were multiple choice, meaning he got the short answer section right! He didn't really think all those times talking with Aunt Hermione and Rose about Muggles would really help him that much on the seminar.

"All the students who missed three or less, please come up to me with your tests," the professor said. Al, Sapphire, and a Gryffindor girl made their way to the front of the room.

"Okay, you three," she started after she made sure the tests were graded correctly, "You are exempt until Christmas break from this seminar. Every time this class meets, you must report to me. Then you are allowed to go out into the outside of the Great Hall, but you mustn't stray too far. And you must report back to me before class ends. Feel free to work on homework during this time. And please," she added, "Help your fellow classmates with their homework in this class." And with that, the three went outside with their bags while the professor started handing out the syllabus for the term.

As soon as the doors closed, Sapphire yelled, "Hellz yeah, one less class to take!" She raised her hand for Al to slap, then to the Gryffindor girl, and then that girl raised her hand to Al. "AWESOME!"

The Gryffindor girl and Al laughed at Sapphire's glee. When she finally calmed down, "Oh yeah, hi," Sapphire said offering her hand, "I'm Sapphire Turner."

"Hi, I'm Wednesday Adams," the Gryffindor said, returning her hand. "If you can think of a good nickname for that, feel free to call me that instead of a day of the week." She made a sour face as she lowered her hand.

"Trust me, I can relate," Al said, offering his own hand, "I'm _Albus_ _Severus_ Potter. Please, call me Al. It's simpler."

"Or Asp, he's our house's mascot," Sapphire added while she lowered herself to a sitting position on the floor.

"I'd prefer Al," Al said while he shook Wednesday's hand. They all laughed a bit and sat down where they stood in a circle.

"Okay, Albus might be a strange name, but my name is the same as a character from a TV show that became a movie. The show is about a strange family where they were like vampires and stuff. Everyone thought it was hilarious when I got my letter to here," Wednesday said as she gestured around herself.

"Okay, that's pretty funny," Al said with a laugh. Wednesday stuck out her tongue out but soon joined in with Al and Sapphire's laughter. "I actually don't mind my name but, well, I'm named after two people my dad considers the two bravest men to ever exist. That's no pressure at all."

"Yeah," Sapphire said after some giggles had subsided, "I'm named after my birthday stone, a beautiful stone! Does my mom expect me to be as beautiful as a sapphire?" After a bit she added, "...Okay, maybe I already reached that goal."

They all laughed, but Al and Wednesday didn't really think of it as a joke. Sapphire _was_ beautiful. She had chestnut brown hair that was slightly wavy down half her back. Her eyes were as dark blue as her namesake's and they were framed in an almond shape, slightly larger than Al's, with thick, long eyelashes. Her nose was cute and small and her lips were shapely and almost the same shade as her cheeks.

Wednesday was beautiful, but she was basically Sapphire's complement. She had blond hair that was slightly curlier than Sapphire's and went just past her shoulders. Her eyes were dark green and large with long eyelashes. Her mouth was full on the bottom, but the top lip was full until halfway to the end of her mouth when they seemed to disappear, giving her a bit of a cartoonish look. Wednesday's nose was somewhat bigger than Sapphire's but it was just as cute.

Then Al thought of something. "Um, Wednesday," he started and the blond looked up in response, "Don't you have a twin brother in there? I mean, you guys have the same name, so I kinda assumed…"

"You know what they say what happens when you assume," she said with a smile, "You make an ass out of you and me." Wednesday laughed, "See, I'm "Muggle-born". Well, my dad was…not the best person…especially to my mum. I wasn't even two when my mum finally filed for divorce. My mom met Scott and fell in love. Scott's wife died and he was left with his son, Doug. Doug's dad and my mum were married when we were four. I hadn't been in school yet, so my mom decided to change my surname to Adams since she loved him so much and owed a lot to him. Plus…"

"She thought the TV show name would be cute, huh?" Sapphire interrupted.

"Yeah," Wednesday said with a laugh, "So, we grew up in a wizarding house, since Scott is a wizard, and I would stay with my French grandmother as to not forget my roots in heritage and magical abilities, but I accepted I wouldn't be able to do magic…"

"Except you could," Al supplied.

Wednesday nodded her head, "When I was eight, I wanted to watch my favorite movie, this American film called _Heart and Souls_. I've loved it since I was _two_." She smiled at the memory and continued, "But my mom wasn't going to let me since I had talked back to her earlier. She went to the kitchen to make dinner. I pouted and crossed my arms, and suddenly, the movie was on the TV screen at my favorite part, where they're walking down the streets singing "Walk Like a Man" by the Four Seasons.

"She yelled at me and I insisted that I didn't do anything, but she didn't believe me and she turned off the TV. Suddenly, it was back on screen _again_. At the same part! My mother was mad, but she was confused. It was on TV, so it shouldn't have been at the same _part_. She took my hand and went to the kitchen with me, telling me that I couldn't watch it. But it went on again, at the same exact part! My mum knew it wasn't me, and after a few moments she realized what it meant.

"Doug was at his aunt's house since he was going to a Quidditch game. Scott was on a business trip—he works for _The Daily Prophet_ and was doing a report on an American potions master—so my mother called him. He Apparated back and they talked for a _long_ time. I didn't realize what was going on, so I just sat and watched _Heart and Souls_ with a cookie. Scott turned off the TV and I was mad that they kept on teasing me by starting and stopping it. I dropped my cookie and then got sad that I had dropped it…so I started crying." Wednesday blushed as Al and Sapphire gave a bit of a laugh.

"I wanted the cookie," she said as a solid explanation. "Anyways, I stopped crying and when my eyes cleared, I saw that there was one on my lap with the same teeth marks. I took a bite and my mom told me to stop since it had been on the floor, which I didn't believe, even if it was bitten in the same places. Scott said I must be a witch and I was so excited I dropped the cookie again. When it came back up, I didn't eat it this time since I realized it really _was_ on the ground and I _never_ _ever _ate off the floor." Wednesday finished with a laugh.

"Basically," Al said, trying to put things together, "Doug may have met some of your Muggle relatives, but he didn't know enough to get out of the seminar."

"Yes."

"And neither one of your birth parents are magical?" Al asked.

"Not one bit," Wednesday replied.

"So you being a witch is just a coincidence?"

"Yes, very coincidental," Wednesday said with a nod.

"Creepy."

"Yeah."

They looked over and Sapphire who started taking out her iPod. Soon, both Al and Wednesday followed suit.

"Hey, can I look at what you have?" Al asked. He thought one of the best ways to learn about a person was to see what they listened to the most. Wednesday agreed as long as she could look at his.

Al was looking through playlists of old bands like the Four Seasons and some musicals and movie soundtracks when Wednesday asked, "Woah, dude, why do you have four different versions of _Sweeney Todd_ on your iPod?"

Al sighed, "It's a long story."

"I told you mine, now tell me yours," Wednesday said playfully. Sapphire looked up, pausing her music to hear what Al was about to tell.

"Okay…" and Al was warped back into a memory.

—

Hey hey hey! I thought I would continue into the memory, but it's _really_ long. If I put it in this chapter, it would go on for pages and disrupt the flow. The next chapter is being put up soon, though, so don't fret! R&R!!


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